


An Errant Web

by Alithea



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 07:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16782712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alithea/pseuds/Alithea
Summary: Catra follows a tangled thought into the depths of the Horde's prison to seek an answer from Shadow Weaver. Mention of Catra/Adora.





	An Errant Web

_It was always going to end up like this._

The thought crossed her mind like an errant spider's web, thin and sticky. It was the sort of truth that, even wiped clear, remained on the skin, a ghostly memory. There, but not there. Yes, it was always going to be like this, Catra nodded to herself. Always, and there was no comfort there, only the wish that things had been different. In another life, another universe (of which Entrapta hypothesized were many) she and Adora would have been enemies from the start. Bitter rivals that never saw eye to eye, that had never promised each other forever. Would that have been easier? Or would it have only made her more angry?

She did not have any answers, but she had the thought. She followed it down a long and twisting line that lead her into the darkest depths of the Horde's prison cells. Claws scraping along the walls leaving bare traces of her ire. 

Adora was always going to leave. Even if she had not snuck out the day before she was officially made Force Captain. She was always going to see what the Horde was doing and be appalled by it. Something in her had always been good, and perhaps Shadow Weaver had thought she could bend that sense of justice to her will given more time. Catra knew better though. Catra knew Adora better than anyone ever could, and she didn't know where Adora had developed that drive to save people and be better. That need to do good in a way she knew the Horde had never taught its soldiers. It had to have come from somewhere, and there was a nagging suspicion at the back of her mind that only one person might have that answer: Shadow Weaver. 

Shadow Weaver who could never be kind.

Shadow Weaver who manipulated with fear and horror.

Shadow Weaver who hated the sight of her. 

Shadow Weaver who would never believe her. 

Catra would have said that it stung because she never once lied to the woman, but it was hard to feel the sting after a while. It was hard to notice that something had hit you at all when the words flung in her direction were always sharp, and full of anger, electric daggers that danced up her spine. And, she felt, and knew within the deepest parts of herself, that Shadow Weaver had been that way for two reasons: To raise up Adora into perfection, and to mould Catra into a person who would always question what was true. 

It didn't work the way the evil sorceress had planned though. Catra knew what was true, and knowing the truth made it easier to accept what the Horde really was. 

She stopped, tilted her head slightly, and shut her mismatched eyes for a moment. She had a shadow following her, a thought that she was being lead, but she honestly did not mind it. She continued on her way down, down into the dark to the place where Hordak tossed the things he never wished to bother him again. She wondered how many failures she could get away with before she ended up down here too, but that thought was a mere pittance to the one currently occupying her mind. 

Never one for studying or even showing up on time Catra had gained a reputation for being weak, but she was never actually late, and she was never actually behind. She was not weak. She was, in fact, cunning. She heard everything, learned everything, and after a few days listening to the ramblings of Entrapta combined with her own experiences in the ruins of the First Ones some things were very clear.

Adora was tied to the First Ones somehow. She was special. She was chosen. Catra stopped to pound her fist into a wall. But, of course she was, of course Adora was all those things, otherwise Shadow Weaver wouldn't have given her the time of day. Otherwise the woman would have treated Adora like every other cadet that had been stolen into the Horde. So, those things were unavoidable even if they were infuriating. 

"But you must have known," Catra said as she stopped at a cell door. "You had to have known she was special, and had- I dunno-Powers? Knowledge?" 

She didn't expect an answer. She didn't even want one yet. 

"You knew she was special, and you had to know she'd never make it as Force Captain." The bitterness in her voice was palpable. "So, you were just waiting for her to lead you to it then. The First Ones' ruins, or something like that. Something, very like that. Because you were obsessed with the rune stones, obsessed with the power the Black Garnet gave you." She made a noise that was nearly a chuckle, "But you always wanted more, didn't you?"

Silence, and she smiled because what could the woman even say to that?

"You know where she's from, or you have an idea. Is that why you hated me, because you wanted to be close to her?" Now she chuckled. "How could you think you could ever manage it? She would never trust you with anything, because of the way you treated-"

She stopped and clenched her fists. She shut her eyes to try and untangle herself from the web of thoughts that the sorceress would want her tangled in, had spent years ensuring she would always end up caught within them. She shook the thought away and narrowed her eyes. 

"It'll take her a while to consider it, but it was very smart of you. Eventually, she'll have to come back here and find you. You have some of the answers she's seeking. She'll put herself in harm's way to get at the truth, because it'll eat at her not knowing." Catra sighed, "Oh, but she'll run straight into me first, and I have to tell you- It's the truth because I can't lie to you. I'm not going to let her get this far. Do you know why?"

The door to the cell opened as she entered her security code on the cell's lock. 

It was empty. 

"Of course," Catra said aloud. She didn't have the energy to even punch a wall. She stepped over to a communications monitor and sounded the alarm, "Lord Hordak, Shadow Weaver has escaped. Shall I pursue her?"

His face was unreadable. "A twenty-four hour search,and then forget about her. She needs what we have if she wants to survive."

"Understood."

"Force Captain Catra?"

"Yes, Lord Horak?"

"What were you doing down in the prison cells?"

Catra shrugged, "Just wanted to see if she'd answer a question."

He nodded and the screen went black. 

Catra held herself steady against the wall. She was almost shaking from the rage as it slowly overtook her, but then she started laughing. 

"She'll never trust you!" She shouted. "She'll never trust you even if you crawl to her like a pathetic worm!" She licked her lips and then, calmly, she said, "I'll tell you the truth. I love her, but I'll kill her before I let her get near you again. Because, the gift you gave me... was the ability to tear out my own heart."

In another universe, in another life, Catra and Adora were always enemies, and, "It would have been better that way." 

Except, that it was a lie. 

End.


End file.
